How To Start A Vlog

Learning to start a vlog (video log) is pretty simple, with the correct preparation. Vlogging entails determining your preferred style of video material as well as the channel on which you wish to broadcast your vlog.

After that, you must film, edit, and market your content. You can even start vlogging for free if you have a smartphone.

While it may appear straightforward, starting your channel and growing an audience requires time and effort. We’ll offer you the tools and tips you need to begin your vlog and begin collecting subscribers in this step-by-step guide.

Discover Your Target Audience

One major key to increasing the number of your subscribers is by knowing your audience. Mapping out the needs and wants of your target audience helps inspire content for your vlog.

Consistent delivery of valuable and interesting information is also necessary for growth.

Start posting valuable content by including your authentic personality in the videos. As the number of your viewers increases, it will help if you pay attention to the analytics and comments given by your viewers.

As you produce more content, you will better understand your audience and the content that attracts more traffic.

Choose Content Themes

Once you have a better understanding of your audience and the kind of content you’d like to create, you need to select video content themes.

Create many content buckets to choose from to make this process easier. These content buckets can be a broad theme you can get ideas from. You can also alternate your content themes to make your vlog more interesting.

For example, The content themes of a beauty vlog can include the following content themes.

Favorites & fails
Makeup tutorials
Makeup challenges

Maintain High Video Quality

Although being authentic helps you stand out, it is very important to keep the video quality of your vlog as high as possible. It shows your viewers that you are serious, and it also prevents people from clicking out due to bad video or sound quality.

Fortunately, smartphones now have solid video quality these days, especially when accompanied by a natural light source. You can easily hang your mobile phone on a tripod with an external mic to enhance the sound.

Setting up your lighting professionally can be as simple as using enough sun exposure while filming outside.

Investing in recording/filming equipment will go a long way if you truly want the best quality. Using a vlogging camera together with an external mic will enable you to easily create amazing videos on the go or at your home.

Always Have A Call-to-Subscribe

Do not hesitate or be scared to ask your audience to subscribe & click the notification icon. Try to include this at the start and end of your videos.

Many people have no idea about these features, and other people who can enjoy the benefits often don’t think of using them.

You will realize that these features are valuable to your viewers as it gives them fast and easy access to your videos. It also helps them track your vlog content and easily access your videos.

You get more video views as several people subscribe & push the notification bell.

Cross-Post Snippets And Teasers On Various Channels

If you already have an existing audience, you can use other social media channels to create awareness for your vlog content.

The aim is to convert your existing followers to vlog subscribers. Although not all of them will follow you to your vlog, you have to keep showing them interesting things they’re missing by posting screenshots and clips from your vlog.

Choose A Niche

Vlogging is based on opinions, and you need to air yours. Your viewers see your videos because they’d love to hear the things you say. Speak straight to them without being worried about how everyone else may feel.

There are definitely people who will agree with what you share, and there are people who will not. Create your vlog content for those who do. Those are your target audience.

The thriving vlogs on YouTube maintained their niche or developed them to meet the demands of their viewers. For example, LauraDIY began as a DIY vlogger, but with time her vlog content started moving toward “lifestyle” as her viewers evolved into other interests.

Picking a niche allows your audience to locate you easily. Popular vlogs niches are DIY, beauty, storytimes, lifestyle, mukbangs, e.t.c.

The branding and content of your vlog should help your viewers quickly identify your niche. When people discover your channel and identify your niche, they already have an idea of what they should expect. This way, you’ll receive fewer negative reviews.

Edit Ahead

The whole essence of creating a vlog is to enjoy what you do. Some vloggers love editing, and some don’t. Whatever way you feel about editing, the fact remains that it’s a time-consuming process.

If you fail to edit your video till the day of posting, you might feel rushed and not get the expected result. The endless process of editing & posting content one by one can be a quick track to burnout.

Editing your content beforehand is an excellent way to avoid these problems. This approach helps you create a pile of prepared videos you can use when planning to stay ahead of your schedule. It also relieves you of the pressure of rush edits, making your editing process more interesting.

In tight schedules, you can delegate tasks to freelance video editors. This can greatly help vlog owners who hate editing but have the funds to spare.

Consider Cards, Tags, And End Screens

Cards, tags, and end screens are additional ways to get the best out of your vlog. This is the next approach to attracting more viewers once you’ve maximized your quality.

Cards

Cards are the small boxes in the right-hand hub when watching YouTube videos. They are a few types. They include:

Channel cards: connect to other channels (can be a user you collaborated with or mentioned).
Poll cards: compile reviews from your audience through a poll. A question can come with five options. The poll results will be revealed on the card after the vote for your viewers to see.
Video/playlist cards: facilitate relevant playlists/videos at a specific timecode.
Link cards: link to your website.

End Screens

End screens are the visual representation of the cards that pop up at the end of your video with a minimum duration of 25 seconds. They recommend other videos your audience may find interesting and also prompt them to follow your social media account or subscribe to your vlog.

Creating Your Website

Many vloggers understand that there’s no use in vlogging if you’re not going to put your video on the internet. Many people don’t realize how important a personal website may be.

Having your website allows you to track traffic to your site and sell services or products. It also helps you run a blog alongside your vlog and much more. Also, it can provide you with your online place, which is ideal for sharing just about anything!

A website can also allow people who follow you or buy your products to submit comments, reviews, and other information. Giving your audience a more significant say in how they feel about the video, product, or anything else that appears on your site is another way to keep them coming back.

There are a number of excellent website-building platforms available, such as Wix and Squarespace, which make the process of building a site relatively simple even for individuals with no technical skills.

Setting up a website isn’t as difficult as it may seem. In fact, several hosting companies have targeted their services to small enterprises with no technical knowledge. We recommend BlueHost to host your website since they offer a simple one-click WordPress installation tool and a 60 percent discount on hosting, and a free domain name.

As we mentioned, adding a blog to your website is also a great method to increase organic traffic and grow your business. You can look out for our complete guide on the best and simplest method to set up a WordPress blog.

Marketing Your Vlog

Vlogs are often used as a marketing strategy for businesses. However, it might be a good to interact with the consumer base if the goal is to show the humanity behind the business.

There are, however, several strategies you can use to sell a product or service with your vlog. A catchy title, an excellent description, and a slew of high-quality backlinks, will help you sell your vlog to a large audience.

Titles

Although the title is the shortest, it is frequently the most challenging thing to do. You’ll want something that will entice potential viewers to watch the video.

Descriptions

Following that, users can read the description. Again, this is an excellent spot to include a few SEO keywords or catchphrases but keep them well-balanced. Otherwise, it can turn out to be ad spam instead of useful information.

Nevertheless, if you have additional videos to link to, including them at the conclusion of the video can help visitors locate extra information without having to look for it.

Plan your Finances

One of the best things about vlogging is that you can get started with little to no money, depending on what you want to achieve.

If you’re doing a vlog for your website, you’ll likely need a camera, a tripod, and, of course, your website and special hosting to make it accessible to the public. In most circumstances, these items will not be too pricey.

However, if you’re starting a business as well as a vlog, things may become more costly. You could need to use crowd fundraising sites like Kickstarter, credit from family or friends, or a bank loan to get started.

Pace Yourself

Building a great vlog takes time, dedication, and effort, just like everything else. It’s not going to happen overnight for you to become the next Dude Perfect.

Begin with an epic video that introduces you and your vlog. Then work your way up from there.

Additionally, take feedback from your most successful videos and develop your audience’s preferences. With time and dedication, you’ll be well on your way to being a legitimate vlogger.

Create Attractive Thumbnails

The thumbnail is the last important thing you need to take care of. Your video’s thumbnail is a visual representation of it. Consider it the cover art for a DVD. It gives viewers a taste of what you have to offer in a short amount of time. As a result, it must be eye-catching.

The YouTube Creator Studio can choose a thumbnail for you based on a snapshot of your video. Most professional YouTubers, on the other hand, create their own.

You can use a photo editing program to accomplish this. There are plenty of thumbnail styles to choose from. Bright colors, beautiful backgrounds, and simple writing are all popular choices.

Post Consistently

Consistency in your posts will eventually lead to an increase in subscribers. This is because YouTube promotes consistent video uploaders by ranking them higher in search results.

Therefore, the more often you upload, the more likely potential viewers will discover your channel. Your subscribers will also love your consistency and share your movies with others.

Stick to Your Schedule

Your vlog will most likely not receive lots of views at first, but don’t let that discourage you. Instead, it would be best if you exercised patience.

Make a timetable for how frequently you want to post fresh vlogs and stick to it no matter what.

Conclusion

It takes a lot of effort to make money from a vlog, but it is absolutely doable! It isn’t just for well-known YouTube influencers.

You may start a vlog from zero with a clear plan and strategy in mind, and it could one day provide you with a full-time income. So keep going, and don’t be scared to let your imagination go wild!

It’s also possible that your vlog will be successful if used to promote a company product. You can read other business guides we have on our blog if you need more information about running a successful business.